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Both refused. April left it to the gods to figure out why.
They agreed to spend another day in the forest to gather their strength for the journey back to wherever they each came from. Marin was able to kill a wild animal that foolishly hadn't migrated when the forest was being erratic with its resources. Kymalin proved adept with her dagger as she skinned the animal as if she was peeling fruits.
April had never had a more filling meal. Compared to the scrumptious meals she'd had at the palace where she'd eaten alone most of the time, this simple meat stew with nothing but a few edible leaves for spice tasted a lot better. She also left it to the gods to figure out why.
Now, as they ate from their bowls made from some hollowed-out fruit husk, scooping the sauce using hastily-carved spoons from the branches around them, April's thoughts ran ahead of her. Did the world have other things in store for the three of them had they not been born in the wrong place at the wrong time? Would they have been friends, just exploring the forests and eating raksela stew?
April shook her head. She brought the bowl to her mouth and tipped it to send a few droplets of the sauce to her lips. She resisted the urge to ask for seconds. It was a small animal.
Kymalin smacked her lips. "That was one excellent stew, don't you think?"
April had noticed that the banshee had strangely turned jovial the past day while Marin lost her bravado and remained mostly silent. Apparently, the half-blood was still adamant about not having the armies march into Penleth and wage a battle. Well, let them be. It's not wise to meddle in their business. When April gets back, she's going to borrow a few of the Sovereign's men and take Penleth until they give him June bound in chains. Perhaps, Kymalin and Marin could have the Virtakios to do as they please.
After that, she would drag June into Edgerift, slaughter him in front of the whole of Seelie Court, and finally take the crown that was meant to be hers. Nothing could stop her. Nothing should stop her.
"Why are you all doing what you're doing?" Marin's head snapped up from her bowl to meet their eyes. The air had never felt this thick. "What made you so motivated to do anything even if it's against common morals just to make something happen?"
Kymalin chuckled. "Do you mean that you don't have a wish that you want to be fulfilled?" She tilted her head to one side. "Why did you approach the Heiress, then?"
Marin cast her eyes to the ground and seemed to find the dry ground interesting. Silence reigned in the space between them. Oh, April wished she could make it rain so that she could finally take a bath. She had been smelling of smoke, sweat, and blood lately. The wound on her neck still throbbed but she'd live.
The memory of June strangling her and slashing his dagger down still made April shake in her place, in all honesty. He wasn't the Death Knight for no reason. He's as dangerous as her if she let him get too close. Then again, she saw the look in his eyes when he realized what he had done. He was traumatized by something and slashing throats seemed to trigger it. Could it be that he has decided to change and escape the life of an assassin?
